Search This Blog

Spice, Spice Baby

Free radicals are reactive molecules of oxygen. They are formed as byproducts of metabolism and through exposure to toxins in the environment, such as cigarette smoke. Some foods contain free radicals. Examples include high fat foods. Also, the type of iron in red meat, called heme iron, is a potent oxidant.

The stress caused by free radicals causes many chronic and degenerative diseases, including but not limited to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Free radicals also speed up the process of aging, which can result in those pesky wrinkles, joint pains and liver spots that are the hallmarks of Time.

Enter the Almighty Antioxidants.

The vitamins A, C and E, as well as the mineral selenium neutralize free radicals and slow down the process of aging. Your body cannot produce antioxidants and so you must obtain them in food. They are found almost exclusively in plant foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Animal flesh and animal byproducts contain few antioxidants. In fact, vitamin C is nonexistent in meat, eggs and dairy products.

When you think of food sources of these precious chemicals, berries probably come to mind. Indeed such fruits as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries contain more antioxidants than virtually any other fruit, and any other food for that matter.

With one exception.

Spices.

Most people use spices to flavor dishes. But if used in large enough quantities (say, 1 or 2 tbsp) some spices provide more antioxidant benefit than entire cups of berries.

To wit:

100 grams of blueberries: 6552 antioxidant units

100 grams of raspberries: 4882 antioxidant units

100 grams of strawberries: 3557 antioxidant units

by comparison:

100 grams of cocoa: 80933 units, or 6500 units per tbsp

100 grams of turmeric: 159277 units, or 12,742 units per tbsp

100 grams of cinnamon: 267536 units, or 21,400 units per tbsp

In other words, 1 tbsp of cinnamon has over twice the antioxidant power as 1 entire cup of blueberries!

Labels

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I was watching the TV show Naked and Afraid last night as I sometimes do. The show teams together two strangers, a man and a woman, who attempt to survive on their own for a period of 21 days in some remote and isolated region. Some of the locales featured include the Australian Outback, the Amazonian rainforest and the African Savanna. The man may have a military background, or be an adventurist or deep sea fisherman. Sometimes he's an ordinary dude who lives with mom. The woman is a park ranger or extreme fitness enthusiast or "just a mom" herself. Sometimes the couple quarrel, sometimes one or both "tap out" (quit) in a fit of anger or illness. It is satisfying to see them actually make it through the challenge and reach their extraction point. The victors are usually exhausted, emaciated, begrimed and bare ass naked.

Even more satisfying, at least for me, is the occasional ass shot, snuck in at strategic intervals to boost viewership, of course. It's co…

I hereby proclaim that June is meditation month. And July and August and some of September too. For me at least. During the hundred days that comprise summer, give or take, I have taken it upon myself to "assume the position" for approximately one hour each day, usually divided into two 30-minute sessions. During this time I sit in front of a candle flame, let my breathing subside, and with it my mental activity, and literally count the seconds.

The reductive tendency that is emblematic of science has penetrated schools of meditation, and there are many, each of which advertises its particular breed as, if not being the best, at least boasting novel or specific benefits not found in other forms of meditation.

For example, there is mindfulness, which is the monitoring of thoughts. There is concentration or focus, as on an object or the breath. There is transcendental meditation, which uses the inward repetition of a phrase, or mantra, to "allow your active mind to easily …

To be spontaneous or systematic, that's the question. Or SOS, as the Police sing. Within me these two opposing characteristics are ever at war. I suppose we're all born more of the former. What child is not up for a trip to the candy store on a whim? But our educational system drums in the systematic approach to problem solving. You must progress from number 1 to 10 on your test. Each class is 50 minutes long. Etc. And indeed having a schedule and being methodical can lead to greater material success. If you only do what you feel like you may never study math, or organize your closet. But enslaving yourself to a ritual can suck all the fun out of life. To reconcile the two approaches we've evolved the weekend, which is basically a short vacation from the rigid workday, a time to play in an unstructured way. The athlete has his rest days, a time away from play. The family has the trip to the Bahamas. There are semester breaks in school, though having an entire summer off is…